bankruptcy or admin order?

bo2

Hello, I've been lurking for a while and have made an appointment for bankruptcy on the 24th of july. My debts are under £5000 if I don't include my student loan arrears (£2500), they're threatening me with court now, usual story. If I made an agreement to pay them monthly, would I have to count them in an administration order?

I was self-employed until last month, when my car was destroyed in a arson attack. When I went to apply for income support, I saw an ad for a job with a untility and I'm starting in a few weeks ( ironic really: I owe them over £300). I'm now in rent arrears whilst I'm waiting for housing benefit and IS to start, they needed to see my accounts, which I've now sent them. How will my rent arrears affect my bankrupcy?

My debt problems started with studying for 2 years for a BEng (9 years ago) and an ex husband who will not pay CSA. I wish I'd gone bankrupt back when student loans were included, but CAB convinced me that my debts were not that high. The new job is low paid and part-time (I choose not to raise feral children).

Any advice would be really appreciated, Bo x

rog2

Hi Bo - I'm pretty sure that there WILL be alternatives to bankruptcy, in your case.
Before you consider bankruptcy, have a chat with one of the Debt Charities, such as CAB, CCCS, National Debtline or PAYPLAN. There are links to these charities at the top of the page.
Their advice is professional, impartial and free.
CCCS even have their own advisers on this forum - CCCS_Matthew and CCCS_Emily - perhaps you could send them a PM.

Good Luck.

NekoZombie

I would second Rog2's advice. It might be an idea to look at your income and expenditure to see if there is an alternative solution, as I do think in this case bankruptcy would be the equivalent of using a sledgehammer to crack open a walnut. I don't know much about admin orders (think Rich does), but they may be a better solution.

All the best!

savagevixen

It sounds like you have been dealing with this for quite a long time already.
Bankruptcy would be a completely fresh start, and an Admin Order would be a structured repayment, where you dealt only with the court and not the creditors.
There have been several cases on here where people have gone bankrupt for £4000-4500. It may not sound like a lot, but if you can't pay it it is huge! As others have said, this does depend on your circumstances. I was unable to have an Administration Order, as you must have at least 1 CCJ. I went bankrupt for @£5600, however once everything was submitted to the OR, it was more like £7500.

What really hacks me off, is a large amount of my debt was overpayment of Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Tax Credit. (The latter is not normally included, but the OR can included it) The judge happily included them as debt.

However on here I have read posts that HB and CTB are not written off and have to be repaid once discharged. This will really peeve me, as if they are not included I will have gone Bankrupt for @£3000.

So be careful and make sure you have worked it all out!

bo2

I have three teenage sons, they just keep on eating and growing and growing and eating! but good lads: twins 100% attendance at college and youngest top in year for maths and science.

I don't pay my water bills and the council tax includes arrears. I had given up, no chance of a pension or education or own home under this goverment. BUT; OU are going to fund my finishing degree with them and house price crash hopefully around the corner.

Just want student loans to be written off like the Scot's have been and maybe housing benefit to be abolished (with increased tax credits) so BTL's are stopped. x

bo2

DEBTS
council tax 197
abbey nat 1072
cable&wireless 267
barclaycard 387
carphone w/house 102.34
southern water 1061
british gas 311
bt 26
Hampshire CC 1462
total debt 4885.34

wages 600
tax credits 670
Total 1270

child benefit 165

total income 1435


Total outgoings
Rent 360
Council Tax 27
Water Rates 0
Gas 20
Electricity 60
Mobile Phone 20
Phone/BB 40
food/HH 460
Meals at Work 50
Bus to work 80
Pocket Money 20
School Meals 120
Pet Costs 14
TV Licence 12
Christmas 25
Holiday(s) 40
Birthdays 25
Clothes 120
Haircuts 20
OUTGOINGS 1498

NekoZombie

I can see that things are very tight for you - though I can see a major area where you could make some savings. Your household is 460, meals at work 50 and school meals 120, totaling 630 - I'd say this is very high for a family of 4. Packed lunches maybe? Your bus travel also seems very high - its £9.10 off what I pay for travel in central london on the tubes! Could you possibly get a monthly buspass to reduce this cost?

That said, I can see that your figures are very tight and there really isn't much room to move.

CCCS_Matthew

Just had a quick read of this thread, and thought I would point the following out:

An Admin order is something you could apply for if you have credit debts under £5k. However you have a CCJ against you before you can do this. Essentially its a way in which you can get a binding arrangment to pay through the courts an amount you can afford. If your application for an admin order is accepted, you could also look to apply for a composition order which is where you are asking the courts to consider writing off the oustanding balance after 3 years in to the admin order.

As you will probably know bankruptcy is a way in which you could write off all the credit debt that you've got. There is however a fee to do so which is usually £485 and can often be difficult to find in one go. Something else I should point out here is that your oustanding Student Loan would not be included within bankrutpcy if it was something you were looking at.

Regards,
CCCS

bo2

Thanks for your replies, my bus fare is a £20/week pass, only 30 min journey but from small town to city.

I could reduce our school/college meals to £80 and work meals to £40. I know our food bill is high, but we're an athletic family and lose weight too easily. Do you think the OR would quibble with these figures?

I like the sound of an Admin Order, but would they include my student loans arrears? If so I wouldn't qualify.

Many thanks, Bo X

Toomuchdebt

I would agree that to go BR for this amount seems a litle over the top.I spend a lot less on food and I have 4 children and also 3 cats and various other pets.I would suggest scrapping the school meals-that's a lot for a month-switch to packed lunches for a bit.Also stop the meals at work-that will save money too.£120 on clothes is very steep per month-do you really spend that much??

RAS

Hi Head over to the DFW forum and ask them for advice on cutting tyour expenditure down. Peopel here are good at it but there are far fewer than on DFW.

Also look at Money Saving Old Style. if you feel brave, post up your menu plan and rceipts for a week and see how much they could slash off it.

Or do a Store Cupboard Challenge.

You could clear this lot in a year and be a lot better off next year.

And sign up for www,freecycle.org for clothes and white goods/ electrical good in your area.